The prospect of a new hospital in Lerwick is back on the agenda after a fresh admission that the Gilbert Bain is not fit for purpose.
A report on the hospital’s functionality, condition and layout due to be presented at Tuesday’s meeting of the NHS Shetland board recommends that a strategic assessment of the building is carried out – which could identify a case for change.
The hospital, on Lerwick’s South Road, was designed and built in the 1950s and 1960s and NHS Shetland’s head of estates Lawson Bisset said in his report that it is not fit for purpose in 2019.
He noted: “The constrained site provides little opportunity for expansion and little or no variation to the layout possible in an attempt to come close to achieving the modern hospital requirements of today.”
While the Gilbert Bain is well maintained, it could cost around £10 million to deal with a maintenance backlog and bring the hospital up to modern standards.
But this “will not deal with the issues of functionality, current location of services within the building, nor the size of the departmental areas, or the patient privacy and dignity issues identified”, Mr Bisset said.
The hospital covers the population of Shetland, although it often takes in patients who have fallen ill in the offshore sector or at sea.
The building has an accident and emergency department, two theatres, consultant-led general medical and general surgical ward services and an obstetrician-led maternity unit.
There is also a laboratory and a modern radiology department, which includes a CT service, while other services include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, outpatient clinics, a renal unit and medical physics.
The prospect of a new hospital for Lerwick has often been mooted in years gone by, but the need has not yet outweighed the financial cost.
The Scottish Government, however, has indicated that it will contribute the £175,000 needed to carry out a strategic assessment of the hospital.
The recommendation due to be presented to members of the health board on Tuesday is as follows:
“Following the process of the Scottish Capital Investment Manual and carry out a strategic assessment for the Gilbert Bain Hospital; identifying the current arrangements, the need for change and the benefits that could be realised if that change was implemented.
“This assessment may consequently identify a ‘Case for Change’ for the only hospital on the island that provides services to the population of Shetland.”
